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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: row · plane · date · wound · wind · roll · file · toast

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. toast — bread
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. wound — an injury
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. roll — a list
  9. row — a line
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wind — moving air
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. wound — an injury
  18. date — the fruit
  19. roll — a cake
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. row — to paddle
  22. file — a document
  23. plane — a tool
  24. file — a tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com